scholarly journals Is Google Trends a useful tool for tracking mental and social distress during a public health emergency? A time-series analysis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Duleeka Knipe ◽  
David Gunnell ◽  
Hannah Evans ◽  
Ann John ◽  
Daisy Fancourt
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Time Series ◽  
Time Series Analysis ◽  
Public Health Emergency ◽  
Google Trends ◽  
Social Distress ◽  
Series Analysis

scholarly journals Association between State Indoor Tanning Legislation and Google Search Trends Data from 2006 to 2019: Time Series Analysis (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolyn Heckman ◽  
Yong Lin ◽  
Mary Riley ◽  
Yaqun Wang ◽  
Trishnee Bhurosy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Time Series ◽  
Time Series Analysis ◽  
Indoor Tanning ◽  
Google Trends ◽  
Search Rate ◽  
Series Analysis ◽  
Google Search ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Over Time

BACKGROUND Exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun or indoor tanning is the cause of the majority of skin cancers. Though indoor tanning has decreased in recent years, it remains most common among adolescents and young adults, whose skin is particularly vulnerable to long-term damage. States have adopted several types of legislation to attempt to minimize indoor tanning by minors: ban of all minors from indoor tanning, partial minor ban by age (e.g., under 14 years old), or requiring parental consent or accompaniment for tanning. Currently, there are only six states with no indoor tanning legislation for minors. OBJECTIVE This study investigated whether internet searches (as an indicator of interest) related to indoor tanning varied across states by type of indoor tanning legislation, using data from Google Trends from 2006 to 2019. METHODS A time series analysis of Google Trends data on indoor tanning from 2006 to 2019 by US state was conducted. Time series linear regression models were created to assess the Google Trends data over time by type of indoor tanning legislation. RESULTS It was found that indoor tanning search rates decreased significantly for all 50 states and the District of Columbia over time. There was a peak in searches in 2012 when there was significant attention on indoor tanning (e.g., it was banned for all minors by the first state, California). The decreasing search rate was significantly greater for states with full minor bans compared to those with less restrictive types of legislation. CONCLUSIONS These findings are consistent with other studies demonstrating the association between indoor tanning regulation and tanning attitudinal and behavioral trends. The main limitation of the study is that raw search data were not available for more precise analyses. As interest and norms change, indoor tanning and skin cancer risk among young people may change. Future work should continue to determine the impact of such public health policies in order to inform policy efforts and minimize risks to public health.

scholarly journals Vitamin D, SARS-CoV-2 and Causal Associations in Transversal Studies: The Time-Series Analysis to Reveal Potential Confounders. Comment on Gaudio et al. Vitamin D Levels Are Reduced at the Time of Hospital Admission in Sicilian SARS-CoV-2-Positive Patients. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 3491

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (13) ◽  
pp. 6793
Author(s):  
Cristiano Ialongo ◽  
Antonella Farina ◽  
Raffaella Labriola ◽  
Antonio Angeloni ◽  
Emanuela Anastasi
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Vitamin D ◽  
Time Series ◽  
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ◽  
Time Series Analysis ◽  
Hospital Admission ◽  
The State ◽  
Series Analysis ◽  
Vitamin D Levels ◽  
Time Of Admission

We read with great interest the paper by Gaudio and colleagues on vitamin D and on the state of patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) at the time of admission [...]

scholarly journals LO90: Epidemiologic trends in substance and opioid misuse in Alberta: a cross-sectional, time-series analysis

CJEM ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (S1) ◽  
pp. S39-S39
Author(s):  
J. Moe ◽  
C. Camargo ◽  
S. E. Jelinski ◽  
S. Erdelyi ◽  
J. Brubacher ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Time Series ◽  
Time Series Analysis ◽  
Substance Misuse ◽  
Young Patients ◽  
Opioid Misuse ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Series Analysis ◽  
Ed Visits

Introduction: Substance and opioid misuse are growing public health concerns in Canada. Substance use disorders affect 21.6% of Canadians and accounted for $267 million in healthcare costs in 2011. Opioid misuse is a current public health crisis. The extent of the rise in substance and opioid misuse-related Emergency Department (ED) visits in Canada and the demographic groups in which the rise is concentrated have not been elaborated. Alberta has one of the most complete provincial ED visit records and provides an important understanding of national trends. The objective of this study was to evaluate trends in substance and opioid misuse-related ED visits in Alberta from 2010/11 to 2014/5 within demographic cross-sections of the population using administrative ED visit data from the National Ambulatory Care Reporting System (NACRS). Methods: All visits made by adult patients (18 years old) to any of more than 100 Albertan EDs for a substance misuse-related presentation between 2010/11 and 2014/15 were analyzed. Visits were classified as being related to substance or opioid misuse if the primary and/or secondary visit diagnoses were among an a priori determined group of ICD-10 codes. Annual substance misuse-related visits were compared as visits per 100,000 adult population in Alberta to standardize for population growth. Linear regression was used to assess whether ED visits increased significantly over time. A cross-sectional time-series analysis was employed to examine trends within subgroups defined by sex and age categories (18-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, and 60 years) over a 60-month period. Results: 149,719 substance misuse-related visits were made by 65,089 patients and 8768 opioid misuse-related visits were made by 5763 patients. From 2010/11 to 2014/15, substance misuse-related ED visits in Alberta increased by 38% from 811 to 1119 visits per 100,000 population. Opioid misuse-related ED visits increased significantly (64%) from 44 to 72 per 100,000 population. Conversely, total ED visits per 100,000 population did not increase significantly. Substance and opioid misuse-related visits rose more in non-rural than rural areas. Cross-sectional time-series analysis showed that the greatest increase in substance and opioid misuse-related ED visits occurred in males and in the 18-29 year age category, in which visit increases for opioid misuse appeared exponential. Conclusion: Substance and opioid misuse-related ED visits increased significantly from 2010/11 to 2014/15 in Alberta, with the most dramatic increases occurring in young patients and males. These findings have important implications for targeting urgent preventative public health interventions to stem the rise of this epidemic.

scholarly journals The impact of city-wide deployment of Wolbachia-carrying mosquitoes on arboviral disease incidence in Medellín and Bello, Colombia: study protocol for an interrupted time-series analysis and a test-negative design study

F1000Research ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 1327
Author(s):  
Ivan D. Velez ◽  
Eduardo Santacruz ◽  
Simon C. Kutcher ◽  
Sandra L. Duque ◽  
Alexander Uribe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Time Series ◽  
Time Series Analysis ◽  
Disease Incidence ◽  
Interrupted Time Series ◽  
Case Control ◽  
Interrupted Time Series Analysis ◽  
Series Analysis ◽  
Negative Controls ◽  
Arboviral Disease

Background: Dengue, chikungunya and Zika are viral infections transmitted by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, and present major public health challenges in tropical regions. Traditional vector control methods have been ineffective at halting disease transmission. The World Mosquito Program has developed a novel approach to arbovirus control using Ae. aegypti stably transfected with the Wolbachia bacterium, which have significantly reduced ability to transmit dengue, Zika and chikungunya in laboratory experiments. Field releases in eight countries have demonstrated Wolbachia establishment in local Ae. aegypti populations. Methods: We describe a pragmatic approach to measuring the epidemiological impact of city-wide Wolbachia deployments in Bello and Medellín, Colombia. First, an interrupted time-series analysis will compare the incidence of dengue, chikungunya and Zika case notifications before and after Wolbachia releases, across the two municipalities. Second, a prospective case-control study using a test-negative design will be conducted in one quadrant of Medellín. Three of the six contiguous release zones in the case-control area were allocated to receive the first Wolbachia deployments in the city and three to be treated last, approximating a parallel two-arm trial for the >12-month period during which Wolbachia exposure remains discordant. Allocation, although non-random, aimed to maximise balance between arms in historical dengue incidence and demographics. Arboviral disease cases and arbovirus-negative controls will be enrolled concurrently from febrile patients presenting to primary care, with case/control status classified retrospectively following laboratory diagnostic testing. Intervention effect is estimated from an aggregate odds ratio comparing Wolbachia-exposure odds among test-positive cases versus test-negative controls. Discussion: The study findings will add to an accumulating body of evidence from global field sites on the efficacy of the Wolbachia method in reducing arboviral disease incidence, and can inform decisions on wider public health implementation of this intervention in the Americas and beyond. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03631719. Registered on 15 August 2018.

scholarly journals The Federal Menu Labeling Law and Twitter Discussions about Calories in the United States: An Interrupted Time-Series Analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (20) ◽  
pp. 10794
Author(s):  
Yulin Hswen ◽  
Alyssa J. Moran ◽  
Siona Prasad ◽  
Anna Li ◽  
Denise Simon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Time Series Analysis ◽  
Interrupted Time Series ◽  
Google Trends ◽  
Series Data ◽  
Interrupted Time Series Analysis ◽  
Menu Labeling ◽  
Search Queries ◽  
Calorie Labeling ◽  
Series Analysis

Public awareness of calories in food sold in retail establishments is a primary objective of the menu labeling law. This study explores the extent to which we can use social media and internet search queries to understand whether the federal calorie labeling law increased awareness of calories. To evaluate the association of the federal menu labeling law with tweeting about calories we retrieved tweets that contained the term “calorie(s)” from the CompEpi Geo Twitter Database from 1 January through 31 December in 2016 and 2018. Within the same time period, we also retrieved time-series data for search queries related to calories via Google Trends (GT). Interrupted time-series analysis was used to test whether the federal menu labeling law was associated with a change in mentions of “calorie(s)” on Twitter and relative search queries to calories on GT. Before the implementation of the federal calorie labeling law on 7 May 2018, there was a significant decrease in the baseline trend of 4.37 × 10−8 (SE = 1.25 × 10−8, p < 0.001) mean daily ratio of calorie(s) tweets. A significant increase in post-implementation slope of 3.19 × 10−8 (SE = 1.34 × 10−8, p < 0.018) mean daily ratio of calorie(s) tweets was seen compared to the pre-implementation slope. An interrupted time-series (ITS) analysis showed a small, statistically significant upward trend of 0.0043 (SE = 0.036, p < 0.001) weekly search queries for calories pre-implementation, with no significant level change post-implementation. There was a decrease in trend of 1.22 (SE = 0.27, p < 0.001) in search queries for calories post-implementation. The federal calorie labeling law was associated with a 173% relative increase in the trend of mean daily ratio of tweets and a −28381% relative change in trend for search queries for calories. Twitter results demonstrate an increase in awareness of calories because of the addition of menu labels. Google Trends results imply that fewer people are searching for the calorie content of their meal, which may no longer be needed since calorie information is provided at point of purchase. Given our findings, discussions online about calories may provide a signal of an increased awareness in the implementation of calorie labels.

scholarly journals Is Google Trends a useful tool for tracking mental and social distress during a public health emergency? A time-series analysis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Duleeka Knipe ◽  
David Gunnell ◽  
Hannah Evans ◽  
Ann John ◽  
Daisy Fancourt
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Time Series ◽  
Suicidal Ideation ◽  
Public Health Emergency ◽  
Google Trends ◽  
Depression Symptoms ◽  
Population Mental Health ◽  
Self Harm ◽  
The Uk

AbstractBackgroundGoogle Trends data are increasingly used by researchers as an indicator of population mental health, but few studies have investigated the validity of this approach.MethodsRelative search volumes (RSV) for the topics depression, anxiety, self-harm, suicide, suicidal ideation, loneliness, and abuse were obtained from Google Trends. We used graphical and time-series approaches to compare daily trends in searches for these topics against population measures of these outcomes recorded using validated scales (PHQ-9; GAD-7; UCLA-3) in a weekly survey (n=∼70,000) of the impact COVID-19 on psychological and social experiences in the UK population (12/03/2020 to 21/08/ 2020).ResultsSelf-reported levels of depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, self-harm, loneliness and abuse decreased during the period studied. There was no evidence of an association between self-reported anxiety, self-harm, abuse and RSV on Google Trends. Trends in reported depression symptoms and suicidal ideation declined over the study period, whereas Google topic RSV increased (p=0.03 and p=0.04 respectively). There was some evidence that suicidal ideation searches preceded reported self-harm (p=0.05), but graphical evidence suggested this was an inverse association. However, there was statistical and graphical evidence that self-report and Google searches for loneliness (p<0.001) tracked one another.LimitationsNo age/sex breakdown of Google Trends data are available. Survey respondents were not representative of the UK population and no pre-pandemic data were available.ConclusionGoogle Trends data do not appear to be a useful indicator of changing levels of population mental health during a public health emergency, but may have some value as an indicator of loneliness.

scholarly journals The impact of city-wide deployment of Wolbachia-carrying mosquitoes on arboviral disease incidence in Medellín and Bello, Colombia: study protocol for an interrupted time-series analysis and a test-negative design study

F1000Research ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 1327
Author(s):  
Ivan D. Velez ◽  
Eduardo Santacruz ◽  
Simon C. Kutcher ◽  
Sandra L. Duque ◽  
Alexander Uribe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Time Series ◽  
Time Series Analysis ◽  
Disease Incidence ◽  
Interrupted Time Series ◽  
Case Control ◽  
Interrupted Time Series Analysis ◽  
Series Analysis ◽  
Negative Controls ◽  
Arboviral Disease

Background: Dengue, chikungunya and Zika are viral infections transmitted by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, and present major public health challenges in tropical regions. Traditional vector control methods have been ineffective at halting disease transmission. The World Mosquito Program has developed a novel approach to arbovirus control using Ae. aegypti stably transfected with the Wolbachia bacterium, which have significantly reduced ability to transmit dengue, Zika and chikungunya in laboratory experiments. Field releases in eight countries have demonstrated Wolbachia establishment in local Ae. aegypti populations. Methods: We describe a pragmatic approach to measuring the epidemiological impact of city-wide Wolbachia deployments in Bello and Medellín, Colombia. First, an interrupted time-series analysis will compare the incidence of dengue, chikungunya and Zika case notifications before and after Wolbachia releases, across the two municipalities. Second, a prospective case-control study using a test-negative design will be conducted in one quadrant of Medellín. Three of the six contiguous release zones in the case-control area were allocated to receive the first Wolbachia deployments in the city and three to be treated last, approximating a parallel two-arm trial for the >12-month period during which Wolbachia exposure remains discordant. Allocation, although non-random, aimed to maximise balance between arms in historical dengue incidence and demographics. Arboviral disease cases and arbovirus-negative controls will be enrolled concurrently from febrile patients presenting to primary care, with case/control status classified retrospectively following laboratory diagnostic testing. Intervention effect is estimated from an aggregate odds ratio comparing Wolbachia-exposure odds among test-positive cases versus test-negative controls. Discussion: The study findings will add to an accumulating body of evidence from global field sites on the efficacy of the Wolbachia method in reducing arboviral disease incidence, and can inform decisions on wider public health implementation of this intervention in the Americas and beyond. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03631719. Registered on 15 August 2018.

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